FOURTH
INDIVIDUAL CONVICTED AND INCARCERATED FOR ROLE IN STOLEN GUN "RING"

Attorney
General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that a fourth individual
has been found guilty for illegally possessing two handguns, one
of which had been previously stolen from a security company located
in Virginia. Damon Darryl Dodd, 25, of 111 West Jeffrey Street,
Baltimore, was found guilty of two counts of Illegal Possession
of a Stolen Regulated Firearm before the Honorable John P. Miller
of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, and was sentenced to four
years to be served at the Department of Corrections.

The
facts underlying the criminal convictions are that on May 15, 2002,
officers received information that two females in a silver Nissan
Pathfinder were attempting to sell handguns in the area of Freetown
Village, located in Glen Burnie. Anne Arundel County officers conducted
a traffic stop, discovering that Cheryl Kimberly Shorter, 28, 3600
9th Street, Baltimore City, and Evelyn Renee Alston, 28, 1014 Love
Point Road, Stevensville, were identified as the driver and the
passenger. Officers searched her vehicle and located three Smith
& Wesson .38 Special Revolvers and 100 rounds of ammunition.

Further
investigation revealed that the firearms belonged to Argenbright
Security Company, located in Arlington, Virginia. A company representative
confirmed that 12 guns had been recently stolen, and that Shorter
was a current employee of their company. Upon questioning, Shorter
admitted that she stole the firearms. Shorter further stated that
she and her boyfriend planned on selling the weapons because she
needed money for a new car. Alston was later interviewed by the
Maryland State Police, and she admitted to helping Shorter locate
people in Freetown who would be interested in buying the guns,

In
an attempt to locate the remaining stolen weapons, a search was
conducted at the Baltimore City residence of Shorter and Shorters
boyfriend, CDon Chezere Thompson, 20, 3600 9th Street, Baltimore
City. Three more of the stolen Smith & Wesson .38 Special Revolvers,
and approximately 400 rounds of ammunition, were found and seized.
Further investigation showed that Thompson sold at least four of
the handguns. Thompson was located, taken into custody, and interviewed
regarding his role in the sale of the stolen weapons. Thompson admitted
to selling four of the guns to an individual on the street, but
claimed he did not know his name or where he could be located.

Troopers
from the Maryland State Police, in conjunction with the Firearms
Trafficking Unit, continued investigation to locate the remaining
stolen weapons. On June 12, 2002, Dodd was arrested on felony drug
charges in Anne Arundel County after a traffic stop, which led to
a search warrant being issued for his Baltimore City residence.
During that search, two handguns and a bulletproof vest were recovered.
Both recovered handguns had been reported stolen, including one
reported recently stolen from Argenbright Security.

Shorter
was previously found guilty of committing 15 criminal offenses,
and received 10 years of incarceration with all but three years
suspended. Alston was convicted of five offenses, and was sentenced
to a total of five years, with all but 18 months suspended. Thompson
was convicted of seven offenses and received 10 years in jail, with
all but three years suspended.

"I
am proud of the work of this unit and pleased by the results of
the ongoing cooperative law enforcement effort," Attorney General
Curran said. "There are far too many guns in circulation in
Urban America and the effects are evident in the headlines everyday.
When the wrong people have guns in their possession it is a recipe
for disaster."

This
case was investigated by the Maryland State Police Firearms Enforcement
Section and Anne Arundel County Police Department, with assistance
provided by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives and the Baltimore City Police Department. The case was
prosecuted by the Firearms Trafficking Unit of the Office of the
Attorney General under Operation Crime Gun, which is funded from
grants received from the Governors Office on Crime Control
and Prevention, and the Maryland State Police Cease Fire Council.